President Donald Trump offered extensive praise for outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook this week, recounting their working relationship that began during his first term in office and characterizing the executive as “an incredible guy” with an “almost incomparable” career.
The president’s remarks, posted on Tuesday, came one day after Apple announced that Cook would step down from his leadership position in September after guiding the technology giant for fifteen years.
According to Trump, their professional relationship began when Cook reached out to him early in his first term seeking assistance with what the president described as “a fairly large problem that only I, as President, could fix.”
Trump explained that Cook’s direct approach stood in contrast to the typical Washington practice of hiring expensive consultants. “Most people would have paid millions of dollars to a consultant, who I probably would not have known, but who would say that he knew me well,” the president stated. “The fees would be paid but the job would not have gotten done.”
The president recalled being impressed that the head of one of America’s largest corporations would contact him directly. Trump indicated he found Cook’s assessment of the situation to be accurate and arranged for the matter to be resolved “quickly and effectively.”
That initial interaction established what Trump characterized as “a long and very nice relationship” spanning his time in office. The president said Cook would contact him periodically, though “never too much,” and that he provided assistance on three or four significant issues over the years.
Trump noted that he did not accommodate every request, acknowledging that Cook would “on occasion, be too aggressive in his ask.” Nevertheless, the president emphasized the efficiency of their direct communication, which he said allowed Cook to accomplish objectives “quickly, without a dime being given to those very expensive consultants around town who sometimes get it done, and sometimes don’t.”
The president also took the opportunity to compare Cook favorably with Apple’s legendary co-founder Steve Jobs. While expressing admiration for both men, Trump suggested that under Cook’s leadership, Apple achieved success that exceeded what it might have accomplished had Jobs lived to continue running the company.
“I have always been a big fan of Tim Cook, and likewise, Steve Jobs, but if Steve was not taken from the Planet Earth so young, and ran the company instead of Tim, the company would have done well, but nowhere near as well as it has under Tim,” Trump wrote.
Looking ahead, the president expressed confidence that Cook would continue contributing to Apple and pursue other successful ventures following his departure from the chief executive role.
The announcement of Cook’s planned departure marks the end of an era for Apple, which under his stewardship became one of the world’s most valuable companies. His tenure saw the expansion of the iPhone product line, the introduction of new product categories, and significant growth in the company’s services division.
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